With seemingly dwindling prospects of new federal aid for people still struggling to pay rent thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, the state could see “chaos” as its eviction and foreclosure moratorium ends Aug. 18, a leading housing advocate says.
“When the federal supports fall away, you have tenant rent arrearages where there’s no realistic possibility they can be paid,” Massachusetts Housing Partnership Executive Director Clark Ziegler said Tuesday morning.
Ziegler’s comments came during a webinar panel discussion convened by The Boston Foundation in lieu of its traditional annual Greater Boston Housing Report Card. The report typically analyzes the previous year’s data to determine whether the region is supplying enough housing to meet its residents’ needs, and what obstacles stand in the way of building more.
Since the start of the coronavirus crisis in March, said MHP Center for Housing Data Director of Research & Analysis Tom Hopper, rent collections have largely been strong thanks in large part to the additional $600 per week paid to the country’s jobless as part of the first large federal economic rescue package.
However, indications are growing that homeowners and renters are having an increasingly difficult time meeting housing payments. While roughly 15,000 households in Massachusetts need emergency rent support right now, Hopper said, “September could be problematic for many.” MHP estimates around 178,000 households will need $195 million in monthly rent assistance if all currently unemployed workers can’t find a job by the end of August, he said.
A MassINC Polling Group survey released June 10 showed that only 21 percent of renters currently behind on their payments think it’s “very likely” they will be able to catch up on back rent by mid-August. The survey results and other data show renters and homeowners of color are very likely to be hit hardest by any eviction or foreclosure crisis, Hopper said.
“It is unlikely this commonwealth can address this gap alone without that federal support,” Hopper said.
However, Citizens Housing and Planning Association federal policy coordinator Ryan Dominguez said, Senate Republicans seem disinclined to act on further aid proposals from House Democrats.
When the state eviction and foreclosure moratorium ends, Ziegler predicted “chaos” unless money can be found to keep residential landlords from becoming insolvent, forcing them to turn to evictions as a way to secure paying tenants. Government programs will only be able to help landlords break even, he said.
“It costs money to keep a roof over somebody’s head,” he said. “This isn’t about making landlords whole. This is about keeping landlords afloat.”
“We’re just trying to get through this alive and keep people housed,” he added.
It’s an issue landlord groups have raised alarms about before, with some calling for the state to issue “surety bonds” that would act as insurance if a tenant couldn’t pay.
Boston District 1 City Councilor Lydia Edwards, herself a small landlord and another panelist at the event, said policymakers should look for ways to change the business calculus for landlords considering evicting a tenant who can’t pay.
“The city and the [state] government need to incentivize small property owners to want to keep and maintain and work with their tenants,” she said. “Right now, it’s cheaper to evict.”
Edwards said tax incentives and other measures need to be crafted that “make long-term tenants the better business option.”
